Most Argentine Christmas celebrations happen on the evening of 24 December (called 'Nochebuena' - 'the good night'). Families gather for a big late dinner that often lasts until midnight, when fireworks go off across cities and towns.
Because it is summer, the food is mostly cold or grilled - asado meats, salads, cold fruit, cold drinks. Many families set up long tables in their gardens or on terraces. The whole evening might be 30 degrees and full of mosquitoes - very different from a snowy European Christmas.
On Christmas day itself - 25 December - many people go swimming, head to the beach, or just rest in the shade. Lots of families exchange small presents at midnight on the 24th rather than on the morning of the 25th.
Argentine Christmas trees are often artificial because real ones are hard to find in summer. Some homes put cotton wool on the branches to look like fake snow - even though everyone outside is in flip-flops!
